Gun-mount.



. D.- J. GARTWRIGHT.

GUN MOUNT. v AI PLIUATIOII FILED AUG. 19, 1903. RENEWED NOV. 6, 1907.

974,552. Patented Nov. 1,1910.

WIT/v55 %NT0/emay Tim STATES T DAITID J. CARTWRIGHT, OF HULL,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WALTER S. WAIT, OF NEWTON,MASSACHUSETTS.

GUN-MOUNT.

Application filed August 19, 1903, Serial No. 170,084.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID J. CARTWRIGHT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hull, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun-Mounts, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

In gun mounts as now constructed, considerable difiiculty is experiencedin moving the gun through its complete arc of movement, for while it ismovable with but little trouble through an angle of a few degrees ineither direction from its normal horizontal median position, the powerrequired to move it as it approaches its extreme vertical position, mustbe increased rapidly. The cause of this difliculty lies in the fact thatin modern ordnance the adjuncts and accessories of the gun and itsmount, so increase the weight of the trunnioned or pivoted mass that thetrue center is distorted or offset from the center of mass of the gunbarrel proper, and a trunnion centered relative to the mass of thebarrel, both longitudinally and transversely thereof, is by no means thetrue center of the entire mass, so that however nicely located relativeto the mass of the barrel longitudinally the trunnions may be, anunequal distribution of the entire mass transversely of the trunnionexists. This condition, it is apparent, precludes the balancing of thegun in but one position, namely, horizontally, and in elevating the gun,the unequal, unbalanced mass must be lifted; the power necessary toovercome its tendency to return the gun to a horizontal position, afterthe barrel has been moved through the first few degrees from thehorizontal, is considerably in excess of what would be required were themass properly balanced; and, finally, the gun cannot be brought to astable position vertically; the unequal distribution of the massmaintaining a condition of unstable equilibrium and tending always toreturn the gun to its horizontal position. Attempts have been made tonullify, as much as possible, this difficulty, by providinganti-friction bearings for the trunnions so as to reduce the friction ofturning the barrel and its associated parts upon the mount, but it isapparent that this is merely a corrective measure and does notSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

Renewed November 6, 1907. Serial No. 401,010.

alter the condition which gives rise to the trouble.

It is the purpose of the present invention to obviate the difiicultynoted, and so trunnion the gun that the mass will be equally distributedboth horizontally and vertically of the trunnion center, whereby thepower required to move the gun through its arc of travel is only thatnecessary to overcome the friction of the bearings, and the gun, whenbrought to a vertical position, will be in a state of stable equilibriumwith its mass equally distributed relative to its trunnions. Iaccomplish my purpose by offcentering the trunnions relative to thebarrel, and centering them truly with respect to the movable mass,including gun and its associated parts, so as to secure at all times, abalanced gun.

In the form of the invention which I have illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, I have shown in a conventional way, an ordinarytype of gun, and in said drawingsFigure l is a view in side elevation ofso much of a gun and mount, as will serve to make clear my invention.Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the trunnions of the gunand mount shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showingthe barrel sleeve and the oscillating slide, the other parts beingomitted.

Referring to the drawing by numerals, like numbers indicating like partsin the several views, 1 designates the barrel of the gun, while 2indicates the usual sleeve which surrounds the barrel, said sleevecarrying the customary recoil mechanism, 3 with its essential parts.Said sleeve 2 has sliding connection with a slide L by means of aclovetail connection, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, said slide 4 having aconnecting yoke 5 with which connects the end of the piston rod 6 of therecoil mechanism 3, in the usual manner.

The features of construction thus far described present nothing novel,being all in accordance with the constructions now in use.

It will be noticed that with the parts above set forth, assembled asshown in the drawings, the weight of the barrel 1, the sleeve 2, therecoil mechanism 3 and its accessories, and the slide at, is all borneby the trunnions 7, with which the slide is provided. It is apparentthat the added parts, arranged as shown, bring the true center of themass to one side, or as it appears in the present embodiment of theinvention, below the longitudinal axis of the barrel. To secure a properbalancing of such a mass, it is clear that the trunnions which supportthe gun, must be off-centered with respect to the barrel to compensatefor this unequal distribution of mass and restore equilibrium.Accordingly, as clearly shown, I offset, or, as it appears in theembodiment of the invention herein shown, locate the trunnions 7 at apoint between the longitudinal axis of the barrel and the recoilmechanism or co-incident with the true center of the entire mass. Theeffect of this is to secure a perfect balancing of the gun and itsassociated parts, due to equal distribution of the mass relative to thepivotal or trunnion point, and materially lessen the power necessary toswing the gun through its arc of movement; for a gun trunnioned -as Ihave shown and described will maintain always its equilibrium,balancingperfectly when elevated to a vertical position, and since itistrunnioned on a center co-incident with the center'of its mass, willhave less muzzle movement or whip when fired, than in the ordinary mountin which the trunnions are co-incident with the longitudinal axis of thegun, regardless of the center of the mass.

While I have shown and described a particular construction of gun withmy invention applied thereto, I wish it to be distinctly understood thatthe drawing is merely illustrative of one embodiment of my invention;and that the invent-ion is applicableto any trunnionless gun, no matterwhat may be the disposition and assemblage of the parts associatedtherewith; and I do not, therefore, limit my invention to anything shownand described, except in so far as I am restricted by terms of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a gun mount and in combination, atrunnionless barrel, a sleeve carried by said barrel, recoil mechanismlocated beneath said barrel and suitably connected with said barrelsleeve, a supporting slide with which said sleeve has slidingengagement, and trunnions on said slide below the longitudinal axis ofthe gun and coincident with the center of the entire mass, whereby themass is held in stable equilibrium and the gun is balanced at any angleof elevation.

2. In a gun mount and in combination, a barrel 1, a sleeve 2 carried bysaid barrel and having dove-tailed connecting elements, recoil mechanism3 depending from said sleeve, a supporting slide 4 having dovetailedgrooves with which said sleeve connecting elements are engaged, andtrunnions 7 projecting from said slide 4 on opposite sides thereof at apoint below the 1011- gitudinal axis of the barrel 1 and coincident withthe center of the mass, whereby the mass is preservedin stableequilibrium and the gun is balanced at any angle of elevation.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID J. CARTWRIGIIT.

Witnesses:

A. CUSHMAN, EWELL A. DICK.

